YouTube for Writers, Part 4: Editing Tips to Improve Your Videos

From Edie: Learn why video editing is a valuable skill for writers, with beginner-friendly tips, tools, and a practical checklist to create engaging reels, Shorts, and book-promotion videos.

YouTube for Writers, Part 4: Editing Tips to Improve Your Videos

by Samantha Evans Tschritter @LoveSamEvans

Why is knowing how to edit a video a valuable skill for writers?

• Whether traditionally or independently published, writers need to promote their own work.
• Anything we can do to elevate our social media presence makes a difference.
• Engaging videos create opportunity to engage with readers.
• Videos lend one more way to share the gospel.

“I’m scared because I’ve never edited a video before.” 

Not gonna lie. This one is a doozie. Remember the look on your face the first time someone instructed you to sum up your entire book in fifteen words? That’s where I’m at. How do I funnel years of research and practice into a succinct, intelligible article? Let’s give it a go.

Your Vocabulary List:

• 1. CTA—Call to action, the “What next” step for your reader or viewer
• 2. Reel—a vertical video typically less that three minutes long. TikTok has the option for a ten-minute reel.
• 3. Short—Youtube’s term for a ‘reel.’ Youtube shorts can run up to three minutes. 
• 4. Long-form video—any horizontal video five to eight minutes or longer
• 5. Try- attempting a new skill with the possibility of imperfect success
• 6. KIT- Keep in Touch

Your Beginner’s Guide to Video Editing: A Video Editing Checklist:

• 1. First thing you need to do is create a horizontal practice video that you have no emotional attachment to or professional investment in. You could record yourself washing dishes or reading a passage of Scripture. Try to make the video eight minutes long, and try talking at your camera from different distances to get a feel for spacing at sound. This is not a ‘get it right’ video, It’s a ‘get it done.’ We’re not actually uploading this video.
• 2. Choose a program to work with. If you have no intention of recording videos longer that three-minute reels, Instagram and TikTok would work just fine for editing, especially if you record the video within their software.
• 3. For long-form videos—five minutes or longer—try Canva Pro ($13/ month), Capcut Pro ($20/ month), PowerPoint (free with Office), or I-Movie (free). The programs that simplify the recording process and save time cost more money. 
• 4. Spend at least twenty-minutes playing with buttons. I’m not joking. Get comfortable with the program. Know what all your options are. YOU WILL NOT (likely) CRASH YOUR COMPUTER. Options to be aware of: 
• Split—Use this to cut out dead space
• Transition—Can be overused, but this is a great tool if two split portions of video have awkward flow
• Animation—Most useful at the beginning or end of a video
• Effects—I often use this interchangeably with animation
• Filters—chose colors that grab attention or fit your mood
• Video Speed—Great for time lapse when demonstrating the completion of a project.
• Audio Speed—After my late husband died, my speech slowed. Sometimes I need to speed a video up to 1.1 to sound ‘normal.’ Anything faster than 1.1 with speaking sounds digitized. 
• Cropping—Just like a photo, you can trim the clutter on the edges of a video.
• Overlay—An image or video overlapping the main video—show an image of your book while talking about the book
• Library or Stock images/ videos—Canva and Capcut’s free versions come with free photos and videos you can use to enhance your video. Just drag and drop. I don’t work with PowerPoint or IMovie as much so I don’t know if those programs provide stock content. Drop a comment if you know the answer.
• Opacity—show two images over one another. Beautiful and mystifying when done properly.
• Caption templates—
• ‘Legible’ is the main priority here. ‘Fun’ is secondary. 
• Chose a font that your viewers can read, that you enjoy.
• Stick to the same font for every video for branding/ consistency
• Choose a template that displays 3-5 words at a time. You don’t want your viewer to read ahead of the words you speak. 
• I don’t like Youtube’s caption feature because they play two sentences at a time. I add captions with Capcut Pro before uploading a video to Youtube. That said,
• Youtube captions were a fantastic option before I started paying for Capcut pro because using Youtube saved hours of typing captions.
• Stickers—We’re not producing a middle school yearbook—Have a great summer! KIT XOXO—so go easy on sticker usage, but these provide a great tool when used well. My favorite stickers are ‘subscribe,’ ‘follow,’ and ‘share.’ You can also create stickers specific to your books. 
• Layers—used in conjunction with overlay
• Text—sounds simple, but play around with all the features to see which options you like best.
• 5. Now that you’re familiar-ish with the program, it’s time to try.
• 6. Upload a video to the program of you talking about your book and try your hand at editing a real reel. 
• 7. Be sure to include:
• Three Hooks in three seconds
• Movement
• Music
• Spoken words
• Captions
• Animation
• “In this video…”
• A ‘subscribe’ sticker
• A CTA 
• “Subscribe for …”
• “In order to _______, watch this video next.”
• “Join the newsletter for a free ____________”

I believe in your ability to succeed. 

The fantastic thing about video editing is if you forget to say something in the video, you can add the content in with stickers, picture overlays, and text. 

• 8. Music. 
• The best way to avoid copyright infringement with music is to wait until you upload the video to the platform you’ll be using the content on (i.e. Youtube, TikTok, Instagram) and then use music provided by the platform.
• Choose music that fits the mood
• Use ‘fade in’ and ‘fade out.’

My # 1 Time-saving Hack: Using a program that creates captions from audio (I use CapCut Pro), I insert captions first. Use the captions to eliminate dead space and repeated phrases. This saves the trouble of rewinding and relistening to the same sections of audio over and over. Here’s a one-minute reel, showing a time-saving video hack.

In this Video-Editing Strategies Video, I demonstrate how to use each of the elements spoken about in this blog. 

What is one new thing you learned by reading this article? What do you want to hear more about? Comment below. 

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YouTube for Writers, Part 4: Editing Tips to Improve Your Videos from @LoveSamEvans on @EdieMelson (CLick to Tweet)

Don't miss the rest of this YouTube for Writers Series!

Part 1: How to Create Thumbnails that Get Clicks

Part 2: How to Define and Reach Your Target Audience

Part 3: Best Practices for Filming Videos that Engage

Part 4: Editing Tips to Improve Your Videos

Multi-award-winning author S. E. Tschritter (pronounced Shredder) specializes in articulating grief and loss, leading grievers toward hope and healing. Whether poetry, fiction, or non-fiction, Tschritter writes content that will stick with readers long after they close the cover. Her 20-plus years of ministry leadership experience and contributions to over 30 books enable her to serve others, speaking truth with transparency, humor, and love. 

Tschritter currently resides in Simpsonville, South Carolina with her husband, their three teen and preteen daughters, cats named Pitter and Patter, and their Siberian husky whom she lost the vote to name Onomatopoeia. Nothing refreshes Tschritter’s soul like gardening. She gardens to work through plot holes, writer’s block, character development, and book ideas. Tschritter spends a great deal of time gardening. You can find her on social media at Linktr.ee/LoveSamEvans.